To many fans born in 2008 or coming into Star Wars fandom of that time, the epic tales of the Clone Wars were told in the 2008 CGI animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars created by George Lucas. This six and eventually seven-season show told the tales of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano along with the other characters of the prequels as they have adventures against the Separatist forces as well as the insidious Darth Sidious who plots to turn the Republic into the Empire from behind the scenes. However, for an older generation who grew up when the prequels were being released in the movie theater, another set of stories told the tale of the Clone Wars, and that was the multimedia project.

The Clone Wars Multimedia project from 2003-2005 was a fascinating experience in Star Wars. Using LucasArts, Dark Horse, Del Rey Books, and the 2D Clone Wars microseries to tell the tale of the Clone Wars. Considered Star Wars Legends now, many great tales and characters came out of this era of Star Wars storytelling, even characters that we know from the 2008 series to this day. For as the old say goes there is always some truth in Legends.

Same Faces, New Stories

Many might forget, but 2008's The Clone Wars was not the first time the Clone Wars appeared on screen. Its first appearance outside of Attack of the Clones was of course the 2D Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars cartoon made in 2003, that was meant to bridge the saga between Episode II and III. This series was not only our first real look into the war but also introduced many mainstay characters to the screen (who'd already appeared in comics) who lasted to this day such as Asajj Ventress, who would be a major character in the 2008 show, and Durge, who would later appear in canon vie the Marvel's recent comics.

In Ventress' case, she would be a major character throughout the various Clone Wars projects appearing in both the 2D show as well as the various Dark Horse comics. Having an arc that leads her to no longer be Dooku’s assassin. However, unlike in the Clone Wars, she decides to leave the galactic scale all together, heading off into the distance. In the 2008 series, she went on an arc that had her become a bounty hunter, and eventually, in the novel Dark Disciple, she meets her end.

Many other characters and events that appeared in the multimedia project would appear in The Clone Wars, such as Quinlan Vos, who in Dark Horse became for a brief period a dark acolyte of Count Dooku. Kamino would get attacked, but in the Dark Horse comic, it happened at the beginning of the war in order to prolong the conflict. The famous Arc Troopers were a stable of all versions of the Clone Wars.

A Story of Clones

One thing that might be different from the 2003-2005 multimedia project and The Clone Wars (2008) is the clones themselves. The actual series had many arcs dealing with the clones. Their personalities, their individual characters, and how they were affected by the war. While in the older material very rarely did the clones have much character or individual personality traits outside of them essentially being the stromtroopers of the Republic. Though it is worth mentioning that Karen Traviss' books explored the clones quite a bit. This was one major difference between the two versions. The last major one was the Chosen One himself,

One Anakin, Different Approaches

If there is one really big difference between the two stories of the Clone Wars, it’s the characterization of Anakin Skywalker. Each has a very unique takes on the character.

In the Clone Wars 2D cartoon and the Dark Horse comics, Anakin was a bit closer to what he was in the prequels. A bit whiny, a bit moody, and with a very clear dark side that was easy to see. Throughout most of the war, he remained a Padawan under Obi-Wan's tutelage. It was not until Volume 2 of the 2D Clone Wars cartoon that we actually saw him become a fully fledged Jedi Knight, and it would seem to many that this happened late in the war.

In the 2008 show, it’s very different.

For one thing and the most important difference is Anakin has a Padawan named Ahsoka Tano, who would grow to become a popular character in her own right. Not only that, but it seemed Anakin became a knight rather early in the war’s timeline compared to the other iteration. Also, the personality is different; he’s far more upbeat and charismatic. A mix of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, as George Lucas himself wanted. Some say that this Anakin was made as a response to the complaints about Anakin from the prequel movies, and in some ways, they are very different characters, while in other ways they are the same. A different approach perhaps to the same character

It’s All the Clone Wars

Be it the multimedia project or the 2008 show, the Clone Wars is a rich time to tell stories within the Star Wars universe. It is the last great time of heroes before the major plunge into darkness and the Empire. Despite being different in some ways and similar in others, the Clone Wars has one thing in common, and that is that it is an era filled with great Star Wars storytelling.

Written By Joel Davis

Source(s): Wookieepedia

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